Italian Lakes. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Hello everyone, I have just been reading all of the posts from 2022 about the Italian Lakes. We love Italy but have not visited the Lakes yet and were wondering when would be the best time to go in order to avoid the mozzies. I am allergic to the wretched things and got bitten to death last year when we were in the South of France in early July. I was so poorly, it spoilt the holiday. I have seen a couple of posts that mention mozzies, especially if you visit in September, which is when I originally thought about going! Any advice would be very welcome, thank you. The 2022 posts were very interesting, especially when certain hotels were recommended.

I meant to say Sirmion is on Lake Garda.

I see you are going in October Aveline so hope you enjoy your holiday.

I think they are all jaw droppingly beautiful, only went to Maggiore, more passing through really, when I travelled around Europe with a boyfriend in my youth. My impression was that it became cloudier and colder around the Italian/Swiss border, I imagine it's not like that all the time. Last time I went to the lakes we stayed in Sirmione which has very pretty cobbled streets, we went to the neighbouring town of Desenzano to take the train to Verona. When we drove around the perimeter of the lake we came across other towns, notably
Gardone and Malcesine which often made me exclaim "we should come back here to stay they're even better than where we are" Although prone to rainfall and cloud being so near The Dolomites I always remember it as being a little bit of heaven on earth.

Enjoy your trip if you haven't already been Aveline.

We toured through all the lakes by car in 2006. My favourite was Lake Orta which is small. Like many of the Italian tourist centres it gets lots of day coach visitors, so the best time of day to wander round and eat is after 4.30 when it is less crowded.

We are contemplating the lakes next year and I was given a few recommendations Lake Garda especially from grans on here before Covid.

Hi Floradora9
At Nettuno at the moment. The food certainly has gone down, and hotel is very tired. Bardolino is still beautiful.

We love Lake Garda and have been many times to the Grand Hotel at Gardano Riviera ...big Grand Old fashioned lake side hotel with the small town and ferry stop just outside the gate ...if you're lucky you can eat on the outdoor terrace.

If you're going by cat then Lake Orta is stunning ...very small and
unspoilt ....lots of mozzies late in the season though ?

This is a very useful thread. We were thinking about Lake Garda just before the pandemic started so we may go there once we decide it's safe to travel again

My mother went on a school trip (this would have been back in the 1930s) to Lago Maggiore and the surrounding area. She raved about it as long as she lived. At that time it must have been like in the film Tea with Mussolini.

We went some 20 years ago and I am sure it still hadn't changed. I was charmed by it.

My theory was that it is all so inaccessible for furniture lorries that nobody has been able to modernise it.

I do recommend that film if you haven't seen it.

I am getting some serious travel envy now! I was googling some of the spots mentioned above, and it looks beautiful.

Floradora9
Yes I do remember the chap in charge of the dining room his name was Loris and he was good fun. I do think there was a falling out with the management, although we knew him fairly well we never really got to the bottom of the story. He now works just as a waiter in a town nearby, I can’t remember the name. I agree with your description of the hotel. Unlike Spanish hotels it’s not all chrome and glass, but it has a beautiful view of the lake, we have always thought the food was good and the walk into Bardolino along the waterfront is lovely. Also there is a shortcut back to the hotel if you have paid a visit to a bar in the town. We are due to visit again in a few weeks.

Went to Stresa/ Maggiore some some 30+ years ago. Lovely. Went by boat to Switzerland. Lunch on board and Hydrofoil back. Boat out to the three little islands . Two posh and one fisherman’s island. Boat up coast to beautiful garden designed by a Scotsman. Went up mountain by lift. Goats and a lovely little restaurant. Do go.

aquagran

Bardolino on Lake Garda. Go every year and stay at Nettuno.

Aquagran do you remember the chap in charge of the dining room he had a name like Lawrence but fancier at the Nettuno ? We felt the food had gone downhill the last time we were there about 3 years ago . This chap was gone but someone , another regular , had lunch with him and his wife. He was employed elsewhere and I think there had been a falling out with management. Anyone going to Italy for the first time you will find the bedrooms are not as large as you get in Spanish hotels . They really are just for sleeping in though we did have a good balcony in the Belleview.

Bardolino on Lake Garda. Go every year and stay at Nettuno.

Much prefer Como and Garda to maggiore.

We have credit with a travel agent so will have to use them in order to keep it. I may be back with more questions when I know more about where and when we're going.

I’ve stayed on Garda and Maggoire both are lovely the last stay was a few days at the Grand Hotel Dino on Maggiore a glorious stay. We booked direct with the hotel and had a very good deal

I would recommend Hotel Gardenia Al Lago near Gargnano on Garda. Lakeside family run hotel with delightful garden where they serve meals in the good weather. Great food. Lake and mountain views. Lovely walk along the lake to the small town where you can catch a boat to destinations all over the lake. DHLawrence spent time with his lover in this area and you can see many references to him here. Another vote for Iseo and the island in the middle where cars are not permitted has some lovely hotels and restaurants.

We had a holiday by Lake Garda in 2000. A lovely lake, very popular with Germans. If the locals find you don't speak Italian they tend to take it for granted that you are German.

My real favourite is Lake Iseo. Smaller and less touristy. We always stayed in a little village up in the hills where the hotel treated us as family. It helps if you know a bit of Italian but the younger people tend to speak some English. Sometimes we drove and sometimes we flew into Bergamo, which is also worth a visit.

We stayed in Riva del Garda and loved it. We went with Riviera and the only drawback was flying to Venice and then a long coach trip to Lake Garda.

We lived Lake Garda and stayed in Limone. Fantastic trip to the Dolomites and a couple of wonderful vineyards.

I’d definitely go to Stresa (sic)
I went there with my family, by train, in the 70’s my DD went there a few years ago, I told her she was walking where her great grandmother had 40 odd years before. She thought that was “cool”.
You can go and see the white peacocks.

Maggiore can be very hilly so watch which hotel you go to . Our long time favourite , been loads of times , is Bardolino . It is all flat lots of lovely restaurants and you can take the boat to visit other resorts. It is also not so far to travel from the airport. Do be aware some resorts are a lot longer transfer. We love to go at the very end of May start of June for the rose wine festival . There are lots of stalls selling wine and at the end a wonderful fireworks display. One thing I would watch out for if you in in September are the mozzies . We have been badly bitten . The hotel Bellevue , or the Nettuno are both good . The weather is lovely in September though as it is in June . If you cannot get Bardolino Garda is just next door you can walk along the lake to it .

*Grand Piano

If you are looking for a hotel with faded charm, we stayed in the Regina Palace Hotel, which is really grand and very traditional (even had a pianist playing a Grande Piano each evening whilst you are dining!). It is in Stresa and overlooks Lake Maggiore. From Maggiore you can take a day trip to Zermatt in Switzerland- a ski resort in winter, but beautiful in summer, lots of log cabins covered in flowers and no traffic allowed, only horse and carriages - absolutely enchanting.

We have been to Como, Maggiore, and Garda- loved them all. Garda is the busiest and best for families (especially the town of Garda itself); Como and Maggiore are quieter and more for couples. My favourite place of all 3 Lakes is Bellagio on Como - steep cobbled streets and lovely little shops and restaurants. If you go to Como, you can easily get to Bergamo - a gorgeous medieval town (black and white half-timbered houses, very quaint). The best bit of visiting any of the Lakes is being able to get the Lake ferries and visit all the different resorts, we did this every day, absolutely no time to get bored, there's so much to see. To me, the Italian Lakes are so like our Lake District - breathtaking scenery and views, but with much better weather and much better food!